New York — President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi says Africa, with a youthful population, should position itself to reap rewards from such demographic dividend through investment in sport development.
President Masisi said this at a panel discussion on the role of sport in job creation hosted by the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI) and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) in New York, USA on September 22.
The President told the audience that Botswana government was prepared to finance the development of sport to empower the youth as well as generate revenue through sport tourism.
That, he said was evidenced by government's commitment to investing in state-of-the-art stadia and associated infrastructure should Botswana win the bid to host the 2027 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
"In addition to providing the necessary platforms for the youth to excel in sports, government also invested heavily in the education and economic empowerment of the youth, as a key age cohort to the nation's future," he said.
President Masisi, who was in a dialogue with Congolese-born American-based National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball star and NBPA vice president Birsmack Biyombo, on the role of sport in job creation, also implored NBA superstars to promote Botswana's diamonds.
He said Botswana's diamonds, ethically mined, had consistently been used for development, transforming the country from being one of the poorest nations in the world to middle income status, and were natural gemstones as opposed to being synthetic.
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He added that natural diamonds were authentic gemstones created by nature over many years, something he said cannot be replicated in a laboratory.
"Since sport stars active in the NBA and other professional leagues also rely on their natural talent to thrive and have developed a 'bling culture' of associating with precious jewels, the combination of Botswana diamonds and global sport stars would be seamless," the President said.
The panel discussion was part of the 'Unstoppable Africa' event organised by UN Compact's GABI initiative in partnership with NBPA, the NBA professional basketball players union.
Biyombo, who also runs a social impact foundation and is the principal founder of the Kivu International School in his native Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) moderated the discussion on how sport could boost Africa's economic fortunes.
Sport infrastructure, media rights, tourism and sponsorships were identified as potential commercial growth areas for Africa to reap rewards, as well as sport stars leveraging their influence to promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the continent.
BOPA
